LTE Optimization

Day 2
Day Contents
• Interfaces, Bearers and Protocols
• LTE Key Technologies
• OFDMA
• SCFDAM
• HARQ
• AMC
• MIMO

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 Air Interface - RRC
As with other E-UTRA protocols, the RRC layer, which previously resided
in the RNC, has been relocated to the eNB. In addition, the functionality
and complexity of RRC has been significantly reduced relative to that in
UMTS. The main RRC functions for LTE include creation of BCH system
information; creation and management of the PCH (Paging Channel);
RRC connection management between eNB and UEs, including
generating temporary identifiers such as the C-RNTI; mobility-related
functions such as measurement reporting, inter-cell handover and
inter-eNB UE context handover; QoS management; and direct transfer
of messages from the NAS to the UE.

The RRC is in overall control of radio resources in each cell and is

responsible for collating and managing all relevant information related
to the active UEs in its area.

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Air Interface – L2 Overall view

There are three sublayers within the E-UTRA layer 2, PDCP, RLC
and MAC (Medium Access Control). All the sublayers, including
PDCP, span both the control and user planes of the protocol
stack, although in most cases the functions provided in each
plane differ.

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 Air Interface - PDCP
A PDCP entity is created for each SRB and/or DRB on a per-UE basis. All PDCP
entities are bidirectional, thus when the AM mode of RLC is being used there is a
one-to-one mapping between a PDCP entity and AM SAP in RLC. However, for
the UM mode of RLC one PDCP entity will be associated with two UM SAPs, one
configured for transmit functions and the other configured for receive functions.

Within a PDCP entity sequence numbering is applied for higher layer PDUs. This
ensures in-order delivery at the receiving end. In the user plane PDCP control
PDUs can be used to indicate missing PDUs.

In the user plane, only IETF-defined ROHC (Robust Header Compression) is

provided. Support for this is only mandatory for UEs that have VoIP (Voice over
IP) capability.

In the control plane, integrity protection is provided for RRC signalling messages.

Ciphering is then applied in both control and user planes, although separate
cipher keys are applied for a given UE in the two planes.

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 Air Interface - RLC
The transparent mode has no functions, only providing a buffer for
higher-layer packets that are to be transmitted over the air interface.
Transparent mode entities are accessed via a TM-SAP.
The application of transparent mode is limited to the downlink
transmission of system information and paging messages as well as the
exchange of RRC connection establishment messages associated with
the CCCH (Broadcast Control Channel).
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Unacknowledged mode entities are accessed through a
UM-SAP. Unacknowledged mode reorganizes RLC SDUs
into a size requested by the MAC layer.
Unacknowledged mode also provides sequence
numbering for in-order delivery to higher layers at the
receiving end. Reordering in the RLC layer is used in
support of the HARQ functions provided by the MAC
layer.
 Air Interface - RLC
The acknowledged mode of RLC is applicable in the control plane for
RRC signalling messages carried in DCCH and for user plane traffic
carried in DTCH. Acknowledged mode entities are accessed through an
AM-SAP.

General transmission and reception functionality in terms of

segmentation, concatenation, buffering and HARQ reordering for AM
mode are similar to those for UM mode. However, AM mode also
provides retransmission of failed RLC PDUs. In this respect a number of
enhancements in functional architecture are provided. Firstly, a single
entity for transmission and reception is required for interaction
between the transmitting and receiving side. Secondly a retransmission
buffer is required in the transmit side. All transmitted RLC PDUs are
retained in the transmission buffer until acknowledgement is received.

Additionally, control (status) PDUs are required in addition to data PDUs

in order to manage the retransmission process. These must be
multiplexed with data PDUs at the transmission end and demultiplexed
(routed) from data PDUs at the reception end.
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 Air Interface - MAC
The MAC layer is defined as part of layer 2. However, many of its functions are
closely related to physical layer behaviour, so the architecture indicated in the
standards should be treated as informative. Manufacturers are left to determine an
efficient implementation for the realization of MAC and physical layer interaction.

The MAC layer is accessed through logical channels as well as a control SAP. It maps
information flows into the physical layer through transport channels. The mapping
of logical channels to transport channels is a key function of the MAC layer.

In addition to channel mapping, the MAC layer has important control functionality
including management of multiple HARQ processes for each information flow and
the random access process.

Most significantly, the MAC layer is responsible for channel prioritization and
scheduling of resources on the physical layer.

The MAC layer has a null function for paging and for system information that will be
transmitted in the BCH (Broadcast Channel) transport channel.

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 LTE Interfaces – LTE bearers
The EPS Bearer ID (EBI) is assigned by the MME upon bearer establishment.

The EBI consists of 4 bits which in theory allows a maximum of 16 EPS bearers
to be created for each UE. However, the relevant specification indicates that 5
values are reserved which limits the number of EPS Bearers per UE to 11. EBI
values are always assigned by the MME which sets the EBI value for the default
bearer and sends it to the S-GW. In the same way, the MME also assigns the EBI
value to dedicated bearers. In UMTS networks the equivalent of an EBI is the
NSAPI (Network Layer Service Access Point Identifier) which is used to identify a
PDP context. When the UE moves from LTE to UMTS, the EBI is mapped to an
NSAPI – this mapping is not complex as both NSAPI and EBI are 4 bit values.

The EPS Bearer travels between the UE and the PDN-GW; during handovers it
may also extend over the X2 interface between source and target eNBs.

When travelling over the S1 and X2 interfaces, there is a one-to-one mapping

between the EPS Bearer and the E-RAB and between the identities assigned to
each of those entities.

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 LTE Interfaces – LTE bearers
To allow the S1 and X2 protocols to identify the UEs that form the endpoint of each transport tunnel,
terminals are assigned identities that are unique within the eNBs or MMEs that support those
endpoints.

The UE S1-AP ID and MME S1-AP ID are unique within the eNB and MME respectively that are handling
the E-RAB/EPS Bearer to an Attached UE. The IDs are simple numerical identifiers (24-bits in the eNB
and 32-bits in the MME) and are not associated with a specific instance of the S1 interface in each
device. An eNB can therefore support a maximum of 224 (16.7 million) UE S1 connections and an MME
232 (4.3 billion).

The UE X2-AP ID performs the same basic function as the S1-related identities, but for the X2 interface.

The X2 is optional and is only used to pass handover-related traffic between source and target eNBs, so
the X2-AP ID will only be created as required when a handover is initiated. The ID is 12 bits long and
provides a maximum of 4096 UE X2 handover identities per eNB.

The 4-byte GTP TEID is used in the EPS the same way as it is in legacy networks. Each device that
supports a GTP tunnel refers to it in terms of the TEID assigned to the tunnel plus the IP address and
UDP port number of the interface that handles it. TEIDs are assigned by the receiving side of each
connection and are exchanged using S1-AP during tunnel establishment.
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 LTE Interfaces – LTE bearers
Each UE will establish an initial or default EPS Bearer as part of
the attach process. This will provide the required ‘always on’ IP
connectivity to the UE and may be to a default APN (Access
Point Name), if one is stored in the user’s subscriber profile, or
to an APN selected by the network.

In networks that interconnect to an IMS, the default bearer allows the UE to perform SIP
registration and thereafter to provide a path for session initiation messaging. In these
circumstances, the data rate and QoS assigned initially to the default bearer is commensurate
with the expected low level of SIP-based traffic flow, but these parameters could be modified to
accommodate the requirements of application traffic flows when a connection is established. In
reality, however, a separate EPS Bearer is established to carry LTE call media traffic, so the Default
EPS Bearer would only need to be adjusted if the level of SIP traffic exceeded the capacity
provided by the original QoS settings.
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 LTE Interfaces – LTE bearers

QoS in the EPS is defined by a combination of four parameters:

• QCI (QoS Class Identifier)

• ARP (Allocation and Retention Priority)
• GBR (Guaranteed Bit Rate)
• MBR (Maximum Bit Rate)

EPS QoS is applied between the UE and the PDN-GW

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 LTE Interfaces – LTE bearers
QoS in the EPC is currently defined by three levels: GBR, MBR and AMBR (Aggregate Maximum
Bit Rate).

GBR connections are assigned a guaranteed data rate and are therefore useful for carrying
certain types of real-time and delay-sensitive traffic. MBR connections are non-guaranteed,
variable-bit-rate services with a defined maximum data rate. If a connection’s data rate goes
beyond the set maximum the network may decide to begin discarding the excess traffic.

GBR and MBR parameters are applied on a ‘per bearer’ basis, whereas AMBR is applied to a
group of bearers; specifically, a group of non-GBR bearers that terminate on the same UE.
AMBR allows the EPS to set a maximum aggregate bit rate for the whole group of bearers that
can then be shared between them.

The APN-AMBR parameter sets the shared bit rate available to a group of non-GBR bearers
that terminate on the same APN and can therefore be seen to be applied on a ‘per PCS’ basis;
the UE-AMBR parameter aggregates all non-GBR bearers associated with one UE.

Dedicated bearers can be established as GBR or non-GBR (i.e. MBR) as required. Default
bearers, due to the probable need to adjust their bandwidth after the initial Attach has taken
place, must be non-GBR.

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 LTE Interfaces – LTE bearers
An EPS bearer provides a data path between a UE and an APN located in a PDN-GW.
Once created, an EPS bearer can be in one of two states – active or inactive.

When active, the EPS bearer is assigned bearer resources that amount to a radio
bearer and GTP tunnels, with assigned TEIDs (Tunnel Endpoint IDs) that will carry the E-
RAB (E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer) and EPS Bearer over the Uu, S1-U and S5/S8
interfaces.

Each PDN connection and default and dedicated EPS bearer is described by a Bearer
Context stored in the UE and MME and in other devices required to serve each bearer.

Default and dedicated bearer contexts describe the UE’s current ECM state (idle or
connected) plus the bearer’s EPS bearer ID and QoS parameters, and can be either
active or inactive.

An active Bearer Context is deemed to be in the ESM BEARER CONTEXT ACTIVE state.

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Day Contents
• Interfaces, Bearers and Protocols
• LTE Key Technologies
• OFDMA
• SCFDAM
• HARQ
• AMC
• MIMO

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 OFDMA – Principle of OFDM
•OFDM is a type of Multi-Carrier Transmission.

•OFDM is a special case of FDM Technology.

•It is a way of FDM but with the condition of orthogonality

Think About the
•OFDM is the DL Accessing Technique for LTE.
benefits

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 OFDMA – Principle of OFDM
Consider a radio carrier being modulated by a 10 kbit/s bit steam using QPSK
(Quadrature Phase Shift Keying). It could be expected to see a spectral envelope
following a (sin x)/ x function, as shown in the diagram, with the first null located 5
kHz from the centre frequency.

In a classic FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing) system, other radio carriers would
be allocated and spaced far enough away from the first to ensure minimal adjacent
channel interference. The size of the guard band required would depend on the
transmitter and receiver characteristics as well as the relative powers.

However, in such a system it is assumed that there is no synchronization between the

potential interferers. It is this that leads to the need for large frequency spacing
between adjacent carriers. In fact, if there was synchronization between adjacent
channels, a much smaller frequency spacing could be used. The key is to be able to
make use of the complex nature of the instantaneously transmitted spectrum. The
modulation envelope is only an artificial way of indicating all possibilities over time; a
snapshot at an instant in time would look different.

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 OFDMA – Principle of OFDM
Considering again the two overlapping QPSK radio carriers, it can be seen that there is
a relatively large spectral efficiency gain. If the effective bandwidth of the transmitted
signal is considered to be the frequency separation of the first nulls then a single QPSK
carrier modulated with 10 kbit/s would have a null-to-null bandwidth of 10 kHz.

However, here there are two subcarriers, each of which is carrying 10 kbit/s using
QPSK. Their
respective null-to-null spectra overlap by 5 kHz. This gives a collective null-to-null
bandwidth for the pair of subcarriers of 15 kHz. Thus QPSK is being used to carry 20
kbit/s in a radio bandwidth of 15 kHz.

Note that a single QPSK modulated carrier carrying 20 kbit/s would result in a null-to-
null bandwidth of 20 kHz.

The principle of independent reception of orthogonal radio carriers with overlapping

spectrum can be extended by using a large number of narrowband radio carriers within
one wideband channel allocation.

This results in a very spectrally efficient channel that can carry high bit rates.
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OFDMA – Principle of OFDM
Time
Modulated
OFDM
Symbol
Amplitude

Cyclic
Prefix

Frequency

OFDM
Symbol

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 OFDMA – Principle of OFDM

The filtered OFDM signal is down-converted and then sampled

The diagram shows a block representation of the transmitter that
for analogue to digital conversion.
brings together the elements of symbol mapping for QAM
The cyclic prefix is removed and the sampled signal is separated
(Quaderature Amplitude Modulation) and the application of the IFFT
into I and Q components. The result is a series of complex
(Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) in order to produce an OFDM signal.
samples that are used as the input to the FFT. The FFT
deconstructs the complex waveform in the symbol period to N
complex values, each representing a modulation symbol on one
of the subcarriers.

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OFDMA in LTE
BW Sub_Carriers N_IFFT Sampling Frequenncy N_used Actual BW Guard
Spacing Band
5 MHZ 512 ??? 300 4.5 MHZ 0.5 MHZ
10 MHZ 15 KHZ 1024 ??? 600 9 MHZ 1 MHZ
15 MHZ 1024 ??? 900 13.5 MHZ 1.5 MHZ
20 MHZ 2048 ??? 1200 18 MHZ 2 MHZ

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 OFDMA Pros. & Cons.
PROS.

•Increased Spectral Efficiency

•Robustness to Multipath Fading

•Scalable Bandwidth Allocation

CONS.

•High Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR)

•Sensitive to Frequency and Timing Errors

•Guard Band Requirement

•Inter Symbol interference and inter Carrier Interference

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 OFDMA Pros. & Cons.
Frequency

CP CP CP CP
CP CP CP CP
CP CP CP CP

Symbol Period T(s) Time

Cyclic Prefix To combat the ISI and multipath delay issues the cyclic prefix is
Bit Period T(b)
used in the most ofdm systems , effectivaly a CP is a copy from
the back of the original symbol wich then placed in the front of
symbol to make a OFDM symbole Ts

T(g)
Symbol Period T(s)
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SC-FDMA

SC-FDMA is used as an Uplink Access Technique.

SC-FDMA is a solution for the PAPR occurred in OFDM.

OFDM transmits data in parallel among different sub-

carriers while SC-FDMA transmits data in series among
different sub-carriers grouped as single carrier.

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SC-FDMA
The nominal bandwidth of the transmitted signal will be BW =M/N ·fs.

M the instantaneous bandwidth of the transmitted signal can be varied, allowing for flexible bandwidth
assignment.

Furthermore, by shifting the IDFT inputs to which the DFT outputs are mapped, the transmitted signal
can be shifted in the frequency domain

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OFDMA VS SC-FDMA

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Multiple antenna techniques
•Multi antenna systems is the use of multiple receive
and/or transmit antennas

•If one transmitting and many receiving, is called

SIMO(single input multi output)

•If many transmitting and one receiving, is called

MISO(multi input single output)

•If many transmitting and many receiving, is called

MIMO(multi input multi output)

•Multi antenna techniques are used to increase system

performance including capacity, coverage, QoS.

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MIMO technical Background

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MIMO technical Background

MIMO is potentially a complex technology but it can provide

very significant benefits in system capability. There are three
key ways in which MIMO improves system performance. Any
given MIMO implementation may make use of all these
benefits or may be configured to take particular advantage of
one of them. Ideally, a system should be designed with
sufficient flexibility in MIMO implementation to allow a system
operator to choose the most suitable implementation for
different environments or system goals.

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 MIMO Benefits
• MIMO has two main benefits either:

1) Improving SINR in case of Low SINR

2) Sharing SINR in case of High SINR

• MIMO Achieves these Main benefits through certain modes of operation:

1) TX Diversity(Open Loop or Closed Loop)

2) RX Diversity(MRC & IRC)

3) Beam Forming

4) SU-MIMO & MU-MIMO(Spatial Multiplexing)

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 MU-MIMO
The basic implementation of MIMO is generally referred to as SU-MIMO
(Single-User MIMO).

The SU-MIMO concept can be developed into MU-MIMO (Multi-User

MIMO). In this case the spatial multiplexing capability of MIMO is used to
multiplex a link to more than one mobile using the same time/frequency
resource. The order of multiplexing available depends on the number of
antennas (or rank) available at the transmitter and receiver ends of the link.
For example, the diagram shows a 2x2 MIMO arrangement being used for
MU-MIMO with two mobiles. In this case, the rate available to each mobile
would be lower than that potentially available to a single mobile with an
SU-MIMO configuration, but both mobiles are allocated the same
time/frequency resource and still have the potential for diversity and array
gain. Thus cell capacity is increased, but the resource can be shared
between a larger number
of users. The use of more than one transmitting or receiving station in this
way is sometimes called virtual MIMO.

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LTE Transmission Modes

The Commonly used Transmission modes

are TM1 , TM2 , TM3 and TM 4

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HARQ Operations
ARQ Operations (Automatic Repeat reQuest)

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 HARQ Operations

The use of multiple hybrid ARQ processes means that the receiver decodes data blocks In a different order
from the one in which they were transmitted. In Figure, for example, block 3 is transmitted four times and is
only decoded some time after block 4. To deal with that problem, the receiver includes a re-ordering function
that accepts the decoded blocks and
returns them to their initial order.

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 Link Adaption (AMC*)

The idea is to change the adopted Modulation and Coding per

user based on their radio conditions.

Based on fact of UE that have better radio condition will have

more robust link to bear low code radius as well as higher order
modulation.

UEs Report their radio Condition Through CQI reporting

CQI
in *Adaptive Modulation and Coding
e d d a t a allocated
Modula t
c y ba s e d on CQI
frequen

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 Link Adaption (AMC)
CQI has values from 0 to 15 and Indicates the DL channel quality as experienced by
the UE
UE proposes eNB and optimum MCS so BLER is on target CQI not only considers time
domain but also frequency domain. CQI reference resource:
Time: Defined by a single sub-frame
Frequency: Defined by PRB corresponding to the band to which the derived CQI
value related

‘Meaning of CQI reporting’ (for periodic and aperiodic):

Wideband CQI: Referred to the complete system BW
Sub-band CQI: value per sub-band (certain # of RB) that is configured by higher
layers

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 Link Adaption (AMC) - DL
Based on CQI Status, Appropriate MCS and TBS index is selected based on SINR value (3GPP Standard measurements)
After MCS and ITBS selection Transport Block - code word Throughput and PRB can be mapped and scheduled in DL

Only a subset of the complete table

(3GPP TS 36.213 specifies 110 columns)
Modulation Order
2  QPSK
4  16QAM
6  64QAM

High MCS
corresponds to
high throughput

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 Link Adaption (AMC) - UL
The eNB measures the uplink channel quality and orders the UE to use a specific
modulation and coding scheme (MCS) based on this. Other parameters may also be taken
into account, such as UE power headroom, scheduled bandwidth, buffer content and acceptable
delay.

Sounding Reference Signal (SRS)

Used by network to be able to estimate the channel quality of uplink channels for different UE in
order to be able to apply dependent UL link adaptation and scheduling for different UEs.

UL grant + CQI indicator

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